Nike's Project Amplify: The Bionic Sneaker System
Nike is developing an innovative bionic sneaker system called Project Amplify, designed to significantly enhance human mobility.
Overview: An "E-bike for Your Feet"
Project Amplify is targeting a broad audience, conceptualized as an "e-bike for your feet" to empower users to go further and faster. Nike has set a commercial launch date for this groundbreaking system in 2028.
Project Amplify is aimed at a broad audience, described as an "e-bike for your feet" to provide energy for users to go further and faster.
Technology and Functionality
The system integrates standard-looking sneakers featuring carbon fiber plates within their soles. These sneakers are connected to close-fitting, 3D-printed titanium leg shells that attach to the calves. These battery-powered contraptions are lightweight, weighing approximately two pounds, and house motors, sensors, and intricate circuitry.
How Project Amplify Works:
- The system is highly personalized: it learns individual ankle movements and step lengths, then customizes algorithms to deliver a natural and smooth feel.
- Users can control power and switch between various speed settings in "walk" and "run" modes via a dedicated phone app.
- When active, the leg shells lift the heels and propel the feet forward, providing enhanced momentum.
- Designed for endurance, Project Amplify offers a 10-kilometer run on a single charge, with convenient rechargeable and replaceable batteries.
Historical Context and Market Evolution
The development of Project Amplify aligns with a long-standing history of innovations focused on increasing human speed and mobility, tracing back to early inventions like ice skates and roller skates. While electronic sneakers in the 1980s could track distance, power constraints prevented them from actively increasing velocity.
Modern systems, including Project Amplify, leverage external leg shells or exoskeletons to deliver the necessary power. This approach is also seen in products from companies such as Dephy, which has collaborated with Nike, and Ascentiz H+K, known for its motorized exoskeleton.
Expanding Mobility Horizons
Many companies within the bionic footwear and exoskeleton sector are concentrating on addressing mobility issues. Their goal is to help individuals overcome physical limitations and participate in activities they might otherwise avoid due to pain or discomfort.
Experts suggest these systems could have a similar impact on walking and running as e-bikes have had on mountain biking, enabling a broader range of people to engage in recreational activities.